Abstract

At a time when information and communication technology networks are being developed around the planet, ethical concerns have become burning issues in various areas of social life. The communication aspects associated with ethics raise a number of issues. This research project's overall objective is to present an overview of opinions on ethical issues and challenges posed by information and communication technologies (ICTs), particularly the Internet, in West Africa. Research will be carried out in five West African countries, including three French-speaking countries (Senegal, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso) and two English-speaking countries (Ghana and Gambia). It will deal with ethical issues associated with the economic and cultural issues underlying the implementation of electronic information and communication networks in Africa; the question of regulation (for or against regulation?); illegal or offensive content (what are governments' responsibilities?); individual and collective liability; privacy, individual liberty, and human rights; the growing imbalance of North-South information flow; the threatened African development of space and time; the threatened African identity (in day-to-day life) and social networks.

Recipient Institution(s)